


Stumbling Into Your Arms

by sunshineandthemoonlight



Series: Stumbling Into Your Arms ABO verse [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alpha Louis Tomlinson, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - College/University, Awkward Sexual Situations, Fluff, Good Sibling Gemma Styles, Kissing, M/M, Omega Harry Styles, Strangers to Lovers, Train journeys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-16 11:14:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28581090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshineandthemoonlight/pseuds/sunshineandthemoonlight
Summary: Suddenly, Harry’s nose was brushing against Louis' neck, where his scent was overwhelming.Harry jerked his head to the side and took a deep breath of air, trying to clear his nose of Louis’ scent. ‘Don’t get slick, don’t get hard, don’t get slick’, he repeated to himself in his head, like a mantra.Louis and Harry are university students heading home for the holidays. Harry quickly becomes enraptured by the attractive alpha standing across from him in the train carriage, who has a heavenly scent and a gentle smile.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Series: Stumbling Into Your Arms ABO verse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2118213
Comments: 45
Kudos: 376
Collections: OmegaHarryFicFest





	Stumbling Into Your Arms

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Victoria @larryatendoftheday, my incredible beta and also just a wonderful human being, who beta-ed this fic on short notice because I am not the most organised of individuals. And thank you so much to Mridu @killmygoldenn for your help with the moodboard! 
> 
> Also, this fic has been translated to Spanish by -erodakisses! You can read it [here](https://www.wattpad.com/story/259314157?utm_source=ios&utm_medium=link&utm_content=story_info&wp_page=story_details&wp_uname=loverslouie&wp_originator=qJj4w%2FlxzPlxvfsoT%2F5HHBzckYa6QhRMJy8o1YaBMCYKgZt3cDTUghck245LrEmY9%2F2WhwAM374qdyegY5L%2FXHohLROeLIeFVI8BVEGNUwRvLt%2FCAAUko6zTeGsODZBz). 
> 
> This is a light-hearted ABO fic based on prompt 26 from the omega Harry fic fest. I hope it brings you some joy! 

When Harry had boarded the eleven o’clock train to go home for the university holidays, he had expected the journey to be wholly uneventful. The carriage was packed full of university students, filled to the brim with suitcases and hungover groans. He’d rushed on amidst a flurry of bodies and a screeching announcement warning that the train was about to leave the platform.

An unfortunate consequence of being one of the last on the train meant there were no seats left, and a disgruntled sigh puffed past Harry’s lips as he settled his suitcase between his legs, digging his fingers into the back pocket of his jeans to fish out his phone.

“Sorry, sorry!”

An alpha bustled onto the train just before the doors closed, his rucksack hitting the girl standing opposite Harry as he hauled his suitcase inside. Harry’s gaze was drawn to his bum and thick thighs encased in fitted jeans.

“It’s fine,” the girl opposite Harry said, flinging a hand out to steady herself.

The alpha turned around, leaning his back against the closing doors with a relieved sigh, and Harry’s gaze flicked up to his face. He had sharp cheekbones and scruffy stubble and a fringe that flopped across his forehead, soft looking strands of chestnut brown that partially obscured his eyes. He was gorgeous.

Harry took a deep breath to ground himself but instead was suddenly overwhelmed by a rich scent. There were fragrant notes of vanilla and deep chocolate, and other layers that he couldn’t place, reminiscent of the spices his mum used sometimes when she was baking. The resulting mix was an inviting blend of smells, distinctively fiery, but warm and sweet, too. 

Harry swallowed thickly. He’d never encountered an alpha scent so intoxicating.

He watched as the alpha brushed hair from his eyes and adjusted the beanie on his head. Suddenly the alpha was looking right at him, his eyes a soft blue colour, tracking down Harry’s body almost absentmindedly. Harry froze.

The alpha’s gaze rose to Harry’s face. They made eye contact, and Harry inhaled and was once again hit with the alpha’s delicious scent. Harry allowed the corner of his mouth to tilt upwards, a cheeky sort of smile gracing his lips.The alpha blushed a little, either because he’d been caught checking Harry out or because of Harry’s flirtatious gaze, but returned the smile tentatively. Harry broke out into a full grin, teeth on display, and the mild grumpiness he’d felt upon first boarding the train dissolved into nonexistence.

Harry watched as the alpha tilted his head and raised an eyebrow suggestively, smile now transformed into a slight smirk. He had a gentleness to his demeanour, something innately non-threatening, that meant the expression didn’t feel at all predatory, as it might have from other alphas. It just felt fun, felt exciting.

Harry’s phone buzzed with a notification, and he broke eye contact with the alpha to see his mum had texted him, checking he had boarded the train on time. He quickly typed back a reply, half his mind still preoccupied with the alpha standing just three feet away, trying to decipher the intricacies of his scent.

He glanced up to see the alpha had also turned to his phone, and was typing away with a tender smile on his face. Harry ruffled his own hair, trying to bring some life into the curls, then brushed his fringe across his forehead, out of the way of his eyes. He opened up the messaging app on his phone again.

_To: Zayn_

_I’ll have to stand for the whole train ride home because you insisted we stay up until 5am_

_:((( feel sorry for me_

Zayn was almost certainly still asleep, but Harry couldn’t find it within himself to actually feel disgruntled when he was still enveloped by the exquisite scent of the alpha boy standing across from him. The alpha had to be near his rut, Harry realised; his scent wouldn’t be so distinct, so potent, otherwise.

Harry found his mind drifting to thoughts of the alpha in rut, of bare skin and that rich scent and a thick knot. His nostrils flared, and he eyed the alpha’s body. One of his arms was extended, gripping a handrail beside the door for stability. The train hurtled around a bend and the alpha’s bicep bulged as he steadied himself. Harry, distracted as he was, swayed to the side and almost fell over.

“Fuck,” he muttered to himself, hauling his suitcase back between his legs before it could skid across the floor of the carriage. He imagined the alpha’s strong arms holding him down, pressing his wrists into a mattress, and those blue eyes shimmering with lust. With a dawning sense of horror, he realised he was getting a little bit slick. “Fuck,” he said again, into the silence of the carriage.

The alpha’s head snapped up at the sound, eyes alighting on Harry as an amused smile fluttered across his face. Harry hurriedly dropped his gaze to his phone.

_To: Zayn_

_There’s a hot alpha here and he smells so good_

_Help me_

Harry tried to distract himself from the alpha’s irritatingly appealing scent and irritatingly attractive face by searching online for a present he could buy his mum for Christmas. He browsed through online stores, adding an abundance of items to the basket for him to choose from later. The train journeyed along, its expansive windows revealing that they’d left the city, now, and were racing through stretches of fields, the sun shining with surprising strength for a December morning. Harry plugged his earphones into his phone and listened to his favourite playlist at a low enough volume that it didn’t trigger a hangover headache, bopping his head along to the best songs. He added a silver necklace that he thought his mum might like to the basket of his online shopping account with a smile. 

Though he was always distantly aware of the gorgeous alpha standing across from him, he felt proud that he’d mostly managed to keep his mind occupied on other thoughts. Until his attention was once again captured by the alpha when a noisy ringtone sliced through the quiet air, audible even through the music Harry was listening to. It was the alpha’s phone, the sharp sound piercing through Harry’s dull, hungover mind unpleasantly. A few people on the train grumbled, likely in a similar headache-prone state. Harry, being nosy and having developed a mild fascination with the alpha, tugged his earphones out of his ears, twisting them around his fingers instead.

“Shit, sorry, shit,” the alpha muttered to the carriage, quickly pulling his phone from his coat pocket and answering it. His voice was rich like his scent, but still light and raspy, and Harry wondered if that was what he sounded like all the time, or if it was just because he’d only recently woken up.

“Hi, bubs, how’re you doing?” the alpha said quietly. Harry observed, with a growing sense of attachment, the way his face softened. “Yeah, I’m already on the train. Excited to get home and cuddle you rascals.”

Harry smelt a shift in Louis’ scent, nose twitching as the warm vanilla tones became more pronounced while the alpha talked. Harry closed his eyes and inhaled deeply and could sense that the alpha was calmed by whatever conversation he was having. Harry frowned a little, fingers messing with the bracelets around his wrist as he realised he’d just inferred emotions from the scent of an alpha he didn’t even know the name of.

“Yeah, tell Mum for me, will you? There’s a love,” the alpha was saying, his sharp cheekbones softened by a small smile. Harry couldn’t stop himself breathing in deeply once again, letting the alpha’s scent wash over him. He was developing quite a fascination with the boy already, as he was often prone to doing upon first seeing someone he found attractive. Zayn wasn’t around to rein him in this time, likely still sound asleep, socks on like they had been when Harry had drunkenly tucked him into bed.

_I bet we’d be good together,_ Harry thought to himself as he raked his eyes over the alpha’s form, even though he was aware of the absurdity of the thought. _I can sense his mood and we haven’t even spoken yet. That must mean something._

Harry repositioned the collar of his jumper to show off more of his neck.

The alpha finished his conversation on the phone just moments before the train pulled into the next station. Harry watched with a mild sense of horror as a gaggle of school children in their early teenage years gathered noisily outside the doors to their carriage.

The doors opened and a stampede of kids, with stuffed rucksacks and loud chatter and an accompanying teacher with a painfully shrill voice, all scrambled into the carriage. Harry pressed himself into the corner of the space to make room for them, tugging at his suitcase and shuffling his feet. He dropped his earphones and scrambled to pick them up before they were trampled on, and then the doors closed and the train jerked as it pulled out of the station, and Harry almost toppled into someone as he straightened up. Someone who smelt incredible.

Harry found himself staring directly into electric blue eyes, framed by rounded eyebrows and a soft fringe. He was enveloped by a rich scent and the warmth of an alpha’s body pressed against his own.

“Sorry, sorry,” Harry mumbled, grabbing onto the alpha’s arm to steady himself.

“’S alright.” The alpha’s voice still had a gentle rasp to it, and Harry’s gaze dropped to his lips, only a few inches from Harry’s own face, before fixing on his eyes. Harry gave the alpha a small smile.

“I’m a bit clumsy,” he offered, by way of explanation.

An amused smile lit up the alpha’s face. “I’ve noticed,” he said. Harry couldn’t help grinning widely.

“Oh, yeah?”

The alpha dropped his gaze to the floor, cheeks colouring a light pink, though his smile never disappeared. “Might’ve done,” he said, a little bashful and a little teasing. Harry was growing more and more fond of him by the second.

The train trundled around a bend and the alpha’s arms shot out for support, palms hitting the wall Harry’s back was pressed against. The alpha’s chest was only a few inches from Harry’s own, and his arms were essentially caging Harry in against the wall.

Harry breathed in and let his eyes flutter closed. _Fucking hell._ He could feel himself getting ever so slightly slick again.

The alpha pulled back abruptly, as though he’d suddenly registered the position they were in, and cleared his throat. “I’m, uh, I’m Louis.” Harry’s gaze was drawn to his lips as he spoke, pink and soft-looking. “Sorry about, like,” the alpha waved his hand in a vague gesture, “almost falling onto you.”

“It’s okay,” Harry said. “And I’m Harry, by the way.”

Louis grinned at him. “Hi, Harry.”

Harry watched as Louis’ gaze dropped down to his lips before rising to his eyes again. He bit at his lower lip, and hoped that Louis found the sight attractive. Louis’ scent was even more intoxicating now they were standing so close together.

“So, are you going home from Uni? For the holidays?”

Louis nodded in response to Harry’s question, and then said, “Yeah, yeah I am. You too?”

“Yep. My parents are working so they couldn’t come pick me up in the car. So the train it is, for me.”

The alpha smiled softly. “Yeah same, actually.” He swiped his fringe across his forehead with a delicate movement. “What year are you in?”

“Second year,” Harry said, and chanced another deep breath in, soaking up Louis’ scent. “You?”

“Third year,” the alpha replied. The train slowed down suddenly, and Harry almost stumbled forwards into Louis’ chest. He grabbed Louis’ arms for support, feeling strong muscles beneath his fingertips.

“They really should get some more handholds in here,” Harry muttered. “Sorry, again.”

Louis simply laughed as he shifted into a wider stance. “They really should,” he said softly. “And, uh, I don’t mind. Don’t worry.”

Harry ducked his head and smiled to himself a little. He hoped he was correct in interpreting Louis’ interactions as flirtatious. The alpha was sweet and attractive, and seemed comfortable in a way that drew Harry in and made him want to know more.

The train trundled along the tracks, a few passengers entering and leaving at each station they stopped at, but the carriage remained packed, and so Louis remained right in front of Harry, crowded up close. The sun shone through a window, and its bright rays caressed Louis’ profile, shining golden in his hair and making his skin glow. Whenever a building or stretch of trees blocked the sunlight, Louis’ cheekbones would cast faint shadows across his face, sharp and attractive.

But, possibly even more than Louis’ beauty, Harry found himself charmed by Louis’ personality, by his radiant laugh and his chattiness, and his willingness to laugh at Harry’s jokes. He was drawn in by the way Louis was somehow both comfortably confident and slightly shy, flirting with Harry openly yet blushing and breaking eye contact if Harry ever complimented him directly.

And Louis’ scent, its warm tones wrapping around Harry’s body and saturating the air as the journey went on, certainly wasn’t helping matters.

At some point, they settled into a comfortable silence, and Harry watched as Louis texted someone, noting the way his lips turned up at the corners, like the start of a smile. Louis was wearing a navy blue Henley, which was tight on his arms and shoulders, the top two buttons undone, and Harry admired the way his muscles were visible beneath the thin material.

Louis looked up and caught Harry staring. He licked his lips, quirking an eyebrow.

“What?” Harry said cheekily, and fixed his eyes on where Louis’ tongue had been, his pink lips glistening.

Louis shook his head minutely. “Nothing,” he said around a little grin. He went back to typing on his phone, and Harry returned to watching him. 

The rumbling sound of the train and the chatter of the school children packed into the carriage combined into a steady background noise in Harry’s mind. Outside, clouds began to obscure the sun, creeping across the sky. Harry hoped it wouldn’t start raining. He fiddled around on his phone and allowed himself to daydream about Louis, but tried to angle his head to reduce the intensity of Louis’ scent upon his senses. He couldn’t risk slicking up now, in public, standing right next to an alpha he’d only just met.

The train sped around a bend in the tracks, and Louis must not have been prepared for it because he stumbled into Harry a little, falling forwards so their chests were pressed together, and Harry’s nose was suddenly brushing against his neck, where his scent was overwhelming.

Harry inhaled sharply and then jerked his head to the side and took a deep breath of air, trying to clear his nose of Louis’ scent. He was only mildly successful. _Don’t get slick, don’t get hard, don’t get slick,_ he repeated to himself in his head, like a mantra.

Louis pulled away from Harry’s body, righting himself. “Do I smell bad or something?”

Harry whipped his head around in shock. Louis was looking at him with his brows furrowed and his gaze hard, though he was scratching the back of his neck in a nervous sort of manner. “No, you’re,” Harry cleared his throat, “you’re fine.”

“Okay,” Louis said, still frowning slightly.

“Who were you texting?” Harry asked, in a desperate attempt to change the subject.

“Oh, just my mate, Liam. We, uh, we got pretty smashed last night, and he just woke up.” Thankfully, the sentence brought a fond expression onto Louis’ face, his brows no longer drawn together. “He gets the worst hangovers, poor lad.”

Harry smiled and surreptitiously turned his head to the side a bit, to take in a big lungful of fresh air. “Are you also hungover, then?”

“A bit, yeah. Unfortunately. What, is this your way of telling me I look exhausted?”

“What? No!” Harry protested, and then giggled upon seeing Louis’ teasing expression. “I’m hungover, too, if that helps.”

“Oooh, get up to anything fun last night?” Louis asked, and prodded Harry’s side playfully. “Any stories worth telling to the random alpha you met on the train?”

Harry didn’t have any particularly exciting story to tell, so he pouted instead. “Not really. I usually just dance terribly all night long.”

“No boyfriend or girlfriend to keep you company?” Louis asked.

He was obviously fishing for information, testing the waters, and it made Harry’s heart beat faster with the hope that this might actually go somewhere. “Nope,” Harry said.

Louis nodded once, and then nudged Harry’s side playfully. “Me neither.”

One of the school children who had been messing about loudly with her friends bashed into Louis, knocking him into Harry once again. “Oof,” Harry said, as Louis swore quietly. Harry steadied Louis with a hand on his arm, and let his fingers linger.

The girl didn’t apologise, didn’t even acknowledge them, and Harry sighed. “Children these days,” he scoffed, making his voice gruff to imitate an old, grumpy alpha, and accompanying the words with an overexaggerated eye roll.

Louis laughed, and butterflies fluttered cheerfully around Harry’s stomach. “Quite right, my dear,” Louis said, his voice high pitched and posh, and his chin tilted up snobbishly. Harry collapsed into a round of giggles. He realised belatedly that his hand was still resting on Louis’ arm, and because Louis didn’t seem at all bothered by the touch, he decided to leave it there.

When he glanced up again, Louis was smiling, evidently pleased to have drawn laughter out of Harry, and his body had swayed into Harry’s as though pulled by an invisible magnet. It felt as though time slowed around them, and the sound of the train trundling along echoed in Harry’s ears, blocking out the noise of the rest of the carriage. Harry squeezed Louis’ bicep and Louis’ eyes met his, deep and dazzling. Louis’ gaze dropped down to Harry’s lips and then further down, to his neck.

Harry breathed in deeply and could smell a faint hint of arousal in Louis’ scent, the heavenly, heady aroma filling his nose. He realised suddenly that his dick was half hard in his jeans, and he could feel a small amount of slick between his arse cheeks. _Fuck._

Harry pressed himself back into the wall, trying to get as far from Louis’ scent as he could, and focused on thoughts of dying puppies.

“Are you okay? You seem sort of… troubled.” Louis was frowning, his gaze concerned and his head tilted to the side in obvious confusion.

“I’m fine. I just–”

“You’re clearly not fine,” Louis said. He spoke firmly, but not harshly, and his voice was gentle, with that slight rasp to it that Harry adored. His tone dragged Harry’s thoughts back to sex, to Louis talking to him during sex with that voice, to Louis’ lips forming the words, _hands above your head,_ in that voice as his eyes blazed with arousal. He was still so close to Harry and his scent was everywhere, rich and distracting, and Harry could feel himself getting even more slick. He started to panic.

“Well, sorry I’m reacting when pressed against someone who chose not to take scent suppressors the day before his bloody rut,” he snapped, staring at Louis accusingly.

“What?” Louis recoiled, brows furrowing.

Harry took a deep breath, even though all he could smell was Louis, Louis, Louis, and fought the urge to readjust his dick. He clenched his jaw and tilted his chin up slightly. “You smell really fucking good, and it’s affecting me.”

Louis didn’t react, clearly taken aback or offended, or perhaps shocked that an omega like Harry could be so forward. It grated on Harry’s nerves, as he turned his head away and tried to breathe in some air that wasn’t saturated with Louis’ scent. He spoke bluntly, his tone hard. “I’d say it’s common courtesy to wear scent suppressors. You could’ve literally got them for free at the pharmacy right outside the station.”

“No I’m– my rut’s not till next week.”

The words rang through the air, and Harry paused, turning back to look at Louis with his mouth half open. Suddenly it was easy to make out the shock in Louis’ expression, and the confusion. Relief washed over Harry as he realised Louis wasn’t actually a sexist knothead.

“Oh, um…” Harry felt himself blushing, a little embarrassed at having snapped at Louis so irately. “Um, I’m pretty sure it’s coming sooner than that.”

“Are you… are you sure?”

Harry nodded and offered Louis a sympathetic smile, and tried not to draw attention to his dick, which was still half hard. “I’d guess you’ll be in rut by tomorrow morning. But I don’t know your scent very well, so maybe it’ll be later than that?”

“Fuck,” Louis said. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and then shoved it back in and rubbed at his temples. Then he pulled away from Harry suddenly.

“Shit, sorry, I’ve been so close to you for hours. Fuck, I’m so sorry. I promise I wasn’t, like, trying to–”

“I know,” Harry said gently, resting a hand on Louis’ arm without thought, trying to comfort him. Louis’ gaze snapped to the point of contact and Harry withdrew his hand quickly.

“Sorry, didn’t–”

“No, it’s fine. Christ, can’t believe I didn’t even notice the signs.”

Harry watched as Louis pulled his phone out of his pocket again and started typing something, and surreptitiously adjusted his dick so he would be more comfortable. Louis’ scent still enveloped him, still made him feel weak at the knees, but for now Louis’ shock at the situation was overriding any arousal that had previously been clouding his mind. Harry could sense Louis’ mild panic from his scent alone.

“I’ve been either drunk or hungover for like, three days straight. And my calendar says it’s coming next week, so I guess I missed the signs. I’m so sorry for, uh, like, if I was making you uncomfortable.” Louis scratched the back of his neck and looked at Harry with a faint grimace, his eyebrows tilted apologetically.

“It’s fine, really. Glad I could, um, help you figure it out.”

Louis laughed, shaking his head. “Fuck, yeah. Imagine waking up after your first night back home and being in rut with six younger siblings in the house.”

Harry winced at the thought, but internally celebrated at the way Louis’ scent had settled after his initial panic. “Yeah, that would be awful.”

“It definitely would.” Louis said, nodding his head sagely. “Most certainly, young Harold.”

Harry grinned. “It’s just Harry, actually.”

“Oh, yeah?”

Harry watched as Louis’ gaze dropped to his neck, lingering at the collar of his jumper, where he knew the edge of his collarbones were visible. He saw Louis lick his lips, seemingly subconsciously, and then tracked the way Louis’ gaze rose to his mouth. Louis’ scent was suddenly burning with arousal, rich and thick and maddening. Harry felt more slick mess up his underwear, and tried to think of all the reasons why getting hard in public was a very bad idea.

“Mmhm.”

Harry bit his lower lip unthinkingly.

A low, quiet growl rumbled through Louis’ chest. Harry’s gaze snapped to Louis in surprise, his eyes wide.

Louis jumped back, putting some more space between them, but he couldn’t move further than a few inches given the bodies packed in behind him. “I’m so sorry, fuck, I don’t know why… I have absolutely no right to, uh,” Louis gestured at Harry instead of finishing his sentence. “I think it’s just hit me, like, quite suddenly. Because I wasn’t aware of it and now I am, and– Fuck–”

Louis pulled back from where he’d been swaying into Harry’s personal space again.

“Sorry, Christ, I don’t know why but it’s, uh, it’s sort of all I can think about, now. With you here.”

He looked so distressed by the whole situation, and Harry longed for Louis’ bright smiles and their easy conversation to return. “I don’t mind it,” Harry said, tentative and truthful. “If it’s easier for you to, um, be closer to me, smell me. I wouldn’t have minded it even if you weren’t in rut.”

Louis carefully shuffled closer to Harry at his words, returning to the positions they had been in for most of the journey. “You’re sure?” he checked, his gaze piercing as it locked with Harry’s. “You don’t have to.”

“Yeah, I know. I want to.”

“Thanks,” Louis said, quietly, and looked down at the floor. They stood in silence, which was surprisingly not awkward, as the train kept moving. Harry let himself relax as Louis moved closer, his nose only a few inches from Harry’s neck, and gave up on trying to avoid Louis’ scent. He breathed in deeply, once, and basked in the warm glow of it, in the mildly absurd mixture of peacefulness and arousal that settled in his mind with each inhale.

“Fuck,” Louis said suddenly. “I need to book a rut hotel.”

It didn’t take too long for Louis to pull up the number he already had saved in his phone. Harry observed Louis the whole time, noting the strong line of his jaw and the thickness of his eyelashes, and focused on not getting any more turned on in public. If Louis picked up the scent of his slick, it would be far too embarrassing.

After booking the rut hotel, Louis sent his mum and two of his sisters a long text detailing the situation, explaining to Harry that he couldn’t call because his mum was at work and his sisters at school. And then, at the next station, the noisy group of school children clambered off the bus, leaving enough space for the remaining passengers to spread out.

“What stop do you get off at?” Harry asked, desperate to keep their conversation going so that Louis wouldn’t move away from him.

“The last one. Going all the way to the end of the line,” Louis said, and pulled a funny face that made Harry laugh.

“Me too, actually.”

“Oh, really? Where do you live?”

It turned out that their family homes were less than an hour’s drive apart.

“What are the chances!” Louis exclaimed, wide eyed. They were standing close to each other, so close that Harry could make out the few faint freckles dotted across Louis’ nose. Every time Harry breathed in, Louis’ scent was overwhelmingly intoxicating, clouding Harry’s mind with arousal. Harry subtly looked around, checking that Louis’ body blocked his crotch from view of the rest of the passengers. He was irrationally pleased with himself at the fact that Louis didn’t seem inclined to move away.

Harry was acutely aware of the way Louis’ gaze kept dropping to his neck as they talked, and every time it did, he felt himself preen, a whirl of excitement blossoming in his chest.

Then the train lurched around a bend and they stumbled into each other, bodies pressed together, and Harry felt his own dick press against Louis’ hip with enough force that there was no mistaking what it was. Then he realised that Louis was hard.

“Sorry, fuck–”

“I’m so sorry–”

They sprang away from each other, both speaking at the same time, and then cutting themselves off. They stared at each other with wide eyes. Louis glanced around, cheeks flushed a shade of deep pink, and angled his body so that his front was hidden from the rest of the passengers. 

“I’m sorry,” Louis said. “Couldn’t, uh, I tried to stop it happening, but I couldn’t, really.” He scratched the back of his neck and looked at Harry through apologetic eyes. “I can go stand at the other end of the carriage, and like, give you space.”

“I mean, I’m… me too.” Harry gestured at his own crotch, and Louis’ gaze dropped down and lingered, only returning to Harry’s face once he started speaking again. “You don’t… I mean, you can do that if it makes you more comfortable. I just, I don’t mind if you want to, um, if you want to stay. Here.” Harry waved his hands around himself and sucked his lower lip into his mouth.

“If you’re sure?” At Harry’s firm nod, Louis’ stance relaxed slightly. “I’d be happy to stay next to you. I like you, Harry. More than just, uh,” Louis’ gaze travelled down Harry’s body, to his heeled boots and pigeon-toed feet, and then back up again, “physically.”

“I like you too,” Harry responded with a grin.

They crowded back into each other’s space, and it felt like a barrier – the ‘we’re essentially strangers and we don’t know each other’ barrier – had been broken. _Perhaps being pressed up against each other for a three hour train journey, when one of you is a day away from rut, will do that to you,_ Harry thought with a smile.

“I’m so sorry, though. About this whole rut thing,” Louis was saying. “Leave it to me, the least organised alpha on this planet, to miss the signs of my rut coming up.” He rolled his eyes self-deprecatingly.

Then his hand curled around Harry’s waist, warm and comforting. “This okay?” Louis checked, and Harry hummed in assent, and brushed a strand of hair out of Louis’ eyes. Louis blew upwards in an effort to help, pulling an absurd expression as he did it, and Harry giggled as he tucked the hair under Louis’ beanie.

“Thinking about it now, it’s so obvious, though,” Louis continued. “I found your scent so, just, so attractive, for the whole journey. And I was so confused about why I could smell you so strongly, and why it, uh,” Louis glanced down and whispered the last part of his sentence, “turned me on so much.”

Harry raised his eyebrows in mock shock and gasped theatrically. Louis smiled and his scent wrapped around them like a warm, sexy sort of blanket.

“I mean, even outside of my rut I would think you’re absolutely gorgeous, and your scent is amazing, but I was so confused about why I was getting so turned on by it, like I was still a teenager or something.” Louis laughed a little. “Good to know I’m not regressing back to my fourteen year old self.”

“Aww, I bet fourteen year old Louis was super cute, thought.”

“Nuhuh,” Louis shakes his head, fingers squeezing Harry’s waist gently. “Fourteen year old me was a bloody menace. An absolute pain in the arse.”

Harry buried his laugh in Louis’ shoulder. As he pulled back, his lips grazed Louis’ neck, and both of them froze.

“Sorry, accident,” Harry said. His voice was deep and rough, and would have given away how turned on he was even if Louis hadn’t known he was half hard.

“’S alright,” Louis said, and then cleared his throat. An awkwardness threatened to settle between them. Harry almost wanted to laugh at the fact that this, after everything that had happened on this train ride, might be the thing to tip them over that edge.

Then Louis blurted out, as though he couldn’t stand the tension, “I think it’s gotten so intense so quickly because I’ve been, like, so close to you for hours. And your scent is, uh, very strong and very… very lovely. So it’s just going straight to my brain. Or my knot, really. God, sorry, like, I know you know it’s there and everything but I probably shouldn’t have mentioned it.” His hand slipped off Harry’s waist and moved to rub at his temples. “Wow, I’m really fucking this up. I meet an amazing omega, who doesn’t actually mind the fact that I’ve, like, already been a total weirdo by not realising my rut is coming up, and then I–”

“Louis.”

Louis stopped mid-sentence, mouth half open.

“Stop talking,” Harry whispered. “Hush.”

Louis nodded, whispered “good idea”, and mimed zipping his mouth up and locking it with a key. Harry tried to hold back the laugh that bubbled up in his chest and ended up snorting.

A little while later, once they’d returned to normal conversation and lingering touches and not-so-subtle glances at each other’s lips, Harry realised something.

“How are you going to get to the rut hotel?” He looked down pointedly at Louis’ prominent bulge.

Louis winced. “Uh… bus?” 

“My sister can drive you,” Harry offered, because he knew Gemma wouldn’t be able to refuse if he showed up with Louis in this state. “She’s picking me up in the car during her lunch break. She’s alpha, and she’s not attracted to alphas, so she won’t be affected by your rut.”

“Are you sure? She won’t mind?”

Harry nodded vigorously. “I’m sure.”

“And you don’t mind?”

“I definitely don’t mind.” Harry punctuated the sentence with a squeeze of Louis’ arm.

“Then that would be amazing. Yeah, thank you so much.”

Harry beamed.

It wasn’t long before they arrived at the last station. Their shuffle off the train was comical, both of them angling their bodies to minimise the risk of their crotches being seen, trading knowing smirks and grinning at the absurdity of their situation. Harry tugged his suitcase onto the platform awkwardly, trying to use the suitcase itself to hide his crotch and accidentally knocking his knee into the doorframe in the process. He joined Louis on the platform, bending down to rub his knee and muttering, “Ow.”

Louis laughed at him fondly. “You alright there?”

Harry nodded and straightened up, tugging the sleeves of his jumper over his palms as the frosty winter air wrapped around his limbs. He watched, confused at first, as Louis pulled a black jacket from his backpack and tied it around his hips so that it covered the bulge in his jeans. Harry hastily moved to do the same with his own coat. “Good idea,” he said as he secured it around his waist.

Louis, having inched closer to him as everyone around them vacated the platform, wrapped his fingers around Harry’s upper arm. His gaze was fixed on Harry’s neck. “Can I, like, could I just–” 

Harry nodded, straddling his suitcase awkwardly to get his neck closer to Louis’ face. 

“Sorry,” Louis muttered, before breathing in deeply. Harry’s body was warm all of a sudden, blood rushing through his veins and the bitterness of the breeze entirely forgotten. A shiver travelled down his spine as he allowed himself to indulge in Louis’ scent, which was overwhelming at such close proximity.

When Louis pulled back, his cheeks were flushed and his breath left his lips in tiny pants. Harry felt himself slick up a little more. He eyed Louis’ lips, watched avidly as Louis’ tongue ran over the pink flesh.

“Can I kiss you?” Louis murmured.

Harry glanced up at Louis’ eyes, saw how dilated his pupils were, and remembered he was on the edge of his rut. He stopped himself from leaning in. “How close are you to rut?” The wind whipped his curly hair about his face, and he lifted a hand to brush his fringe out of his eyes.

“At least a few hours away,” Louis said, the words rushing from his mouth. “Promise it’s not my rut talking. I want to kiss you. If you, uh, if you want to kiss me too, obviously.”

Louis’ nose was turning a light pink from the cold, and there was a tension in the way he held his body, hinting at the urges that must have been building in his mind. But his gaze was earnest, his hand steady and warm where it rested against Harry’s arm. He wouldn’t be so composed if his mind was clouded by his rut, Harry knew.

Harry surged forward. There was a brief moment of inelegance as they navigated their way around Harry’s suitcase, but then their lips slotted together, gentle and perfect. Louis’ hand rose to cup Harry’s jaw, his thumb brushing over Harry’s cheek.

They parted and Harry took a deep breath in. He was submerged in Louis’ scent, its fragrant tones saturating his mind with undiluted arousal. Louis pressed their lips together again. His lips parted, moving against Harry’s softly. Harry’s cock was fully hard, now, and he groaned into Louis’ mouth.

Louis pulled back suddenly.

“We, uh, we should stop.” His thumb brushed over Harry’s cheek once more, and then he gave a pointed look to his own crotch. “Don’t want to get carried away.” 

Harry nodded, even though he was reluctant to lose the feeling of Louis’ mouth against his. “Yeah,” he said, voice rough, and stepped back to breathe in some fresh air to clear his nose of Louis’ scent.

They stood for a moment on the empty train platform and simply grinned at each other.

Harry’s phone rang, startling him so much that he let out a little yelp. He scrambled to fetch it from his pocket as Louis chuckled beside him.

“Hello?”

“Hey, where are you? A whole group of people just left the station and I’m pretty sure you were meant to be on that train.”

“Oh, yeah, I’m coming.” He mouthed ‘it’s my sister’ to Louis, and brushed a stray curl of hair out of his eyes. “I actually need to ask you a favour…”

Gemma picked them both up from right outside the station, lugging their suitcases into the boot of the car with only one grumble about how she was having to spend her lunch break. Harry and Louis clambered into the back seats, rolling the windows down so their scents wouldn’t become overpowering.

Thankfully, Gemma didn’t ply Louis with questions as she drove them to the rut hotel, evidently deciding to listen to the ‘I’ll explain later, please don’t interrogate him’ that Harry had whispered in her ear when he’d hugged her in greeting. Harry knew he would have to describe everything in detail the moment they dropped Louis off, but he appreciated that she wasn’t asking nosy questions now, when there was still a chance Louis could be scared off.

Their hands inched across the middle seat until they tangled their fingers together, and they promised to text once Louis’ rut was over. Harry smiled to himself as Louis typed his number into Harry’s phone, adding a heart emoji beside his own name. He caught Gemma’s eye in the rearview mirror and could barely hold back his blush. He knew she must have some idea of the state they were both in from the way their scents spread through the car. When they reached the rut hotel, Harry took a deep breath of Louis’ scent as they hugged, holding back the tiny moan that threatened to spill past his lips. 

Louis dropped a quick kiss to his cheek. “I’ll be thinking of you,” he said with a wink. Harry laughed softly, pleased and a little shy at the thought, and watched Louis tug his suitcase into the building, only turning to leave once Louis was completely out of sight.

Harry’s fingers curled around his phone, thinking of the new number now saved in his contacts. His heart beat wildly in his chest, and he couldn’t contain his grin as he strolled back to the car where Gemma was waiting, clearly ready to bombard him with questions. 

His winter holiday might just end up being far more interesting than he’d originally thought.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, any kudos and kind comments you feel like leaving are greatly appreciated, and mean the world to me! 
> 
> If you'd like to, you can reblog the tumblr post for this fic, which can be found [here](https://sunshineandthemoonlight.tumblr.com/post/640948304948117504/stumbling-into-your-arms-mature-6k-suddenly) on my blog @sunshineandthemoonlight. You can also subscribe to this series (new instalment coming mid-2021!) or to my ao3 account if you’d like updates for when I next post a fic. 
> 
> Thank you for reading. All my love, Aria x 


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